It’s difficult to get a permit in New York City. Perhaps the most anti-gun city in America is notorious about only issuing concealed carry permits to the wealthy or well-connected. A permit is something of a mark of being Big Apple elite.

According to John Farnam writing over at Ammoland, even those select few who do have permits may not be able to get them renewed.

Several of my students (via past political connections) actually had CCW permits issued by the NYPD, nearly impossible to get, but they were very concerned about keeping them!

The sub-department that issues these permits has been fraught with scandal, one right after another. Several higher-ups have been indicted for accepting bribes [to issue permits]. Corruption is rampant and decades old!

Reacting to criticism, the current mayor’s predictable reaction has been to direct the NYPD to even further reduce the minuscule number of permits currently valid.

Hence, many NYC permit-holders, including several of my students, have received letters indicating that their city-issued CCW permits will not be renewed.

No reason given! No wrongdoing, real or imagined, on the part of disenfranchised CCW permit holders. Their precipitous castration is completely arbitrary!

Clearly not a good situation for those folks, to be sure.

That’s a problem of “may issue” jurisdictions. The decision on who to grace with permission to exercise their Second Amendment rights becomes completely arbitrary, the very antithesis of a right.

The funny thing is, had the sub-department in question not had any say in who could receive permits, there would never have been any bribes.

“Shall issue” states don’t have to worry about this nearly as much because there’s little reason to. Anyone who can meet objective requirements such as a background check can get their permit. There’s no reason to offer a bribe.

Further, it becomes risky for a bribed official to issue a permit to a prohibited person. After all, if it’s found, questions will be asked and heads will be called for.

The risk becomes too great.

“Oh, but that’ll put too many guns on the streets,” some anti-gun ninny will kvetch.

And? After all, the people following the law aren’t the problem. It’s not like New York City hasn’t had massive crime, including gun crime, for decades despite some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. It’s not like completely choking off the flow of legal guns in the city has really done much to make it safe, now has it?

Why not open it up? Why not switch to a “shall issue” model and undermine any potential corruption?

Yes, yes, I know. New York City. What the average official in New York City understands about the relationship between guns and violent crime rates would barely fill up a pamphlet from the Brady Bunch…which, incidentally, is probably where they learned it in the first place.

It’s a shame, too. Law abiding people who have lawfully carried their weapons for years are now being told they won’t be permitted to continue because of the government’s own corruption.

Someone else breaks the law and gun owners are expected to suffer? Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?